Combining On-Court and Off-Court Tennis Training

One of the most challenging areas to get right for Players, Parents, Coaches, and Trainers are creating and maintaining the right training structure.  

Combining on-court tennis training with off-court tennis training.   

I mean how many people really know how much tennis practice they should be doing or what sort of off-court training they need to do to compliment their on-court tennis training.  

You might have asked, What’s the best way to prevent injuries? How do I improve my balance? I’m not even sure how to warm up effectively! There are lots of moving parts here, it can be complicated to get right, but hopefully, after today you will get some much-needed help.  

It can be complicated for most people, knowing how many hours to train on the court and train off-court (Tennis Strength and Conditioning). How much rest to have etc.  

Most importantly how to combine on-court tennis training, off tennis court training, and rest. 

We have been lucky to have gained experience in working all this out, having worked with tennis players for over 20 years, with all ages and levels (including 5 number 1 players). 

We have developed systems that can be applied to guide a player no matter their age or level of tennis.  

From a physical perspective, there are certain areas we need to develop first before we look too far ahead. These areas are often missed by many players, coaches, and parents. 

This is especially common in young players, with all the access to social media and watching advanced tennis exercises performed by adults, it can be dangerous.  

The truth is every player needs to build the right foundation; without that, we are in trouble!  

3 IMPORTANT AREAS TO FOCUS ON FOR TENNIS TRAINING

The 3 most important areas to focus on as a player are; Flexibility/Mobility, Strength, and Stability.  

If we are hitting these areas with the right tennis-specific programming and structure, everything will improve (tennis footwork, balance, power, and endurance). 

These are what we call the foundation areas. When we combine training in these 3 areas with effective on-court tennis drills, we are well on our way to solid progress! 

When we get them right and work in the areas consistently, we create a solid foundation to build on (increased power, dynamic movement, and stamina). 

If you try and bypass these areas you are bound to come unstuck (get injured, burn out, or get minimal results). 

It is like learning to drive and going from having a handful of driving lessons, then straight onto the racetrack, screaming around at top speed and agility.  

The same applies to on-court with practice. Every player needs to learn how to control their body and hit the ball straight with control before they get complicated, learn “The basics” build the foundation, that will be there long term.  

Even the top pros do basic drills all the time. They go back to their foundation and work on what’s important, basic effective drills that they can build on.  

So, you might be asking how do I combine these on-court tennis and off-court training foundation areas?  

I will share that with you in a moment. First, I want to take you a little deeper and show you what I am talking about when I say combining the basics.  

Check out these videos and hopefully, you will start to get an understanding of how we combine on-court and off-court tennis training.  

TENNIS TRAINING – ON COURT AND OFF-COURT EXERCISES  

VIDEO 1: KICK SERVE – WRIST MOBILITY  

This drill teaches players how to get over the ball and work across the ball on their kick serve. A common issue player has done this, is the fact they do not have enough wrist mobility to get the racket in the right positions, this fact alone can limit their ability to hit the serve effectively, having restricted wrist mobility range also leaves players prone to wrist injuries. The accompanying wrist mobility exercises will help improve joint range of motion. If you have restricted range and find it difficult to do the serve drill, you will need to do the mobility drills daily until your wrist range improves. We have these wrist exercises and others in our new program.  

VIDEO 2: FEDERER HOP – REAR FOOT ELEVATED SQUAT 

This drill teaches players how to move efficiently into their shots. It is a great way to cut the ball off and stay balanced. This drill requires good strength through the lead leg and also dynamic stability. The accompanying exercise works on improving leg strength and power, through a unilateral movement, specific to the positions the body is put in when on the court. The exercise also challenges ankle and knee stability, which are important for balance when on-court e.g., when performing the hop in this tennis drill.   

VIDEO 3: SERVE FROM THE FENCE – TRICEP EXTENSION 

This drill encourages players to work on creating a bigger serve, by standing at the back of the court and hitting your serve over the net, which challenges your strength, stability, and power. This drill is not about accuracy, it is about building the power of the service action. To generate power, we need strength. So, to get more buzz on your serve you need to get stronger through the muscles that are responsible for the service action. One particular muscle group is the Triceps. The accompanying exercise here targets the Triceps muscles. The fact the arms are extended above the head makes it even more specific for the service motion.  

The videos give you a glimpse into what’s involved in getting this right. It might seem complicated, and it can be, but we may have a real simple solution for you.  

Last year, we realized nothing was available online for players, parents, and coaches that incorporated on-court tennis drills and off-court tennis training. 

We thought about putting something together purely to provide the greater tennis community with the right on-court and off-court training structure; on-court tennis drills, off-court fitness exercises, warm-up, recovery exercises, weekly scheduling.  

For players, parents, and coaches that want to learn how to combine on-court and off-court training.  

We approached our good friend, ex-tennis pro, touring tennis pro coach, and CEO of the Women’s Tennis Coaches Association (WTCA) – Sarah Stone.  

Sarah is at the cutting edge of coaching and anything tennis-related (super connected).  

We jumped at the chance! 6 months later we have pulled it off!  

The world’s first online “Complete Tennis Development Program” combining on-court tennis drills and off-court tennis strength and conditioning drills, plus the structure players need (how long to run the session, what to do in the session, how to progress the exercises and drills, what to do on each day, as far as how to feed a ball) this is important to get right.  

This development program is designed for anyone wanting to learn the fundamentals of the Forehand, Backhand, and Serve. Drills are used by tennis pros around the world, that even a beginner can utilize.  

Then we combine the off-court training which includes learning and applying the fundamentals of; Warm-up, Mobility/Flexibility, Speed, Agility, Strength & Stability Training.  

We created all these workouts, drills, and exercises for beginner coaches, experienced coaches, and parents to use. All ball-handling is hand-feeding, and all drills and tennis exercises can be performed on the tennis court, with minimal equipment!   

This program is just an option for you. No matter your connection with tennis, we hope that you get up and walk away after reading this and realize that to get long-term consistent gains you need to build the right foundation and that involves doing the right on-court and off-court training, consistently.  

If this is something you are interested in knowing more about 👉 CLICK HERE

We look forward to hearing from you soon!